1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording apparatus including a recording head that performs recording on a sheet conveyed to the recording head.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recording apparatuses include recording heads that record images on recording media conveyed thereto on the basis of image information. Sheet materials (hereinafter referred to simply as “sheets”), such as paper and plastic sheets, are used as the recording media. The recording apparatuses can be classified into inkjet recording apparatuses, wire dot recording apparatuses, thermal recording apparatuses, laser beam recording apparatuses, etc., depending on the recording methods thereof.
In a recording apparatus, if a sheet to be recorded on is curled, the sheet can come into contact with a recording head in a recording operation. If the sheet comes into contact with the recording head, there is a risk that a recorded image will be stained by ink or the like transferred to the sheet from the recording head. There is also a risk that the sheet will become jammed. The leading and trailing edges of the sheet are particularly easily curled and often causes the problem that the sheet comes into contact with the recording head or becomes jammed. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-209276 discusses a structure in which side edges of recording paper (sheet) are restrained by sheet-restraining plates while the recording paper is being conveyed. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-209277 discloses a structure in which the position of one of sheet-restraining plates is adjusted in accordance with the movement of a corresponding side guide included in a recording-sheet feeder.
However, in the known structures, if a user fails to accurately bring the side guide into contact with a side edge of the recording sheet, there is a possibility that the sheet-restraining member cannot be placed at a position corresponding to the side edge of the recording sheet. As a result, the sheet-restraining member cannot serve its purpose and there is a risk that the sheet will come into contact with the recording head or become jammed. In addition, if the recording apparatus has a plurality of sheet feeding mechanisms disposed in a rear section, a bottom section, etc., of the main body of the apparatus, it is difficult to adjust the position of the sheet-restraining member in accordance with the positions of side guides included in the sheet feeding mechanisms. Therefore, if sheets with different widths are set in the sheet feeding mechanisms, the sheets cannot be reliably prevented from coming into contact with the recording head or becoming jammed. In addition, also when a single sheet feeding mechanism is used, similar problems occur if the sheets with different widths are stacked in the sheet feeding mechanism.